F.C.P is an okay game, but really doesn't do too much to stand out from the crowd. (contains spoilers)
In Evolution, we find that Jack has been spending his time basically getting drunk when this young dame hires him as a muscle during a weapons sale between her and some local militia. Just as the sale is about to go down, some rebels come and obliterate the militia - and after you kill them - it looks like everyone is poiting the blame on you for the death of the militia. Anyway, your trying to escape from this new island when you get assaulted by people who have the same kind of powers as you, and the big cheese known as Sereum (or something like that) tries killing you and that dame from early... so naturally you want vengenace.... especialyl after he kills your man Doyle from Instincts.
Though different stories, both games play exactly a like. Through Jack's eyes you get a lot of weapons from assault rifles, shotguns, .50 caliber machine guns you can rip out of the ground, sniper rifles, and others to destroy numerous enemies - though you can only carry 3 types of weapons, most of the smaller ones can be duel wield. You can also use your animal moves which can be entertaining like when you punch a pirate 100 miles away. There are a lot of vehicles to drive such as hummers, ATVs, hand gliders (that was cool), various types of boats, trucks, and many more.. though there are no tanks. In both games you can set traps, which include laying claymore mines into the ground or tying up branches so when enemies walk near them the branch whips back scoring you an instant kill. It was pretty cool, but got pretty useless later on.
There is a multiplayer and it is pretty fun. There are many types of game modes ranging from mere deathmatches & capture the flag games to "Predator" games where one person becomes feral and stalks other players. There is also a map editor where you can make your own stages with any kind of box, vehicle, emplacement, or anything which is a really cool feature. Great for X-Box Live.
Lets talk difficulty. Far Cry Predator is a pretty hard game for a few reasons: You'll be fighting ALOT of enemies at one time (both in air and on ground), the weapons seem sort of weak when you're using them, and your health depletes WAYYY too fast - for instance you'll get shot like twice with an assault rifle and you're almost dead. However, the boss fights are pretty simplistic and just require you to slash at them with your claws for a few moments.. so its a win-lose situation: It's hard to get up to the boss, but the boss is easy.
Graphics are kinda subpar figuring they just used the normal X-Box mechanics, but they still look pretty good. The white beaches, dense jungles, dark caves, and crystal clear water look beautiful... the character models look a little lame and boxy, but one quick glance at the enviroments and you can easily forget about them.
Almost all of the sounds were great. The music was really thumbs up and helped add a bit of lonliness & freakyness to the atmosphere. The guns sounded great, and the voice acting was awesome - Jack Carver is the man. He curses, is sarcastic, tough... he has a lot of personality that is shown through his dialouge.
Now for endings. Instincts was boring - you beat Crowe, Kreiger gets killed by some mutants, Doyle & Cortez pick you up in a helicopter. You say, "Cortez - you owe me a damned boat!" and Doyle gives you a suitcase full of money. You grin and fly away.. thats it. In Evolution, after you beat the leader of the new Feral people (Sereum), you meet the dame who hired you and tried to kill you near the end of the game, and she starts freaking out because..well...she tried to kill you and you survived. You throw her money at her and she says," There was nothing else I could do Jack." and your character looks at her and goes, "There was a time when I used to think like that too." and kicks open a door to reveal a way off the island. Thats it.... sadly, Doyle dies. Sort of lackluster, but every game's ending has been bad so far.
To finish it up Far Cry is a pretty run of the mill FPS with only a FEW qualities that make it stand out slightly. Sure its intense, and sure the multiplayer is good but the game is kinda short, the ending doesn't feel rewarding, and when your done with the stoy (and don't have X-Box Live) then there really isn't much reason to play Predator again. Rent it first.